In 2025, digital advertising will be key to successful sales. TikTok ads, Meta ads, and Google ads are the three main advertising platforms. Today we will compare TikTok and Meta advertising platforms.

Both platforms offer unique strengths, but which one is right for your brand? Let’s dive into how they stack up this year.

Audience Demographics

Each platform (TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram) has its own audience, people who use them every day. Understanding these statistics is very important for better and smarter Ads.

TikTok Ads

TikTok, as one of the biggest social media platform, has over a Billion users daily.

The majority of TikTok users are aged 10 to 19, with those aged 20 to 30 coming in second. People over 45-50 make up the smallest group of users on the platform.

It’s also very important to know that TikTok has more female users (57%) than male users (43%).

When it comes to demographics, most users come from the USA, totaling over 120 million users daily. Second and third places go to Indonesia and Brazil, with 109 and 82 million users.

Meta Ads

Meta social media platforms are Facebook and Instagram, two different apps with two diverse audiences.

Meta platforms have more than 3.28 billion users daily, ranging from Gen Z to Boomers (aged from 18-55+).

As of January 2024, Facebook’s global audience was composed of 56.8% male users and 43.2% female users. In the United States, 77% of women and 61% of men reported using Facebook.

Regarding Instagram, as of April 2024, 49.2% of its global audience were women.

Most users come from India, with 378.05 million meta users, second place goes to the United States with 193.8 million users and third place go to Indonesia with 119.05 million users.

Ad Formats and Creative Options

Ad formats and especially creativity are crucial for every business. If your ads are not creative and different, your advertising efforts will fail no matter the ad formats. Now let’s go through the different ad formats each platform offers.

TikTok Ads

In-Feed Ads

• Format: Short, vertical videos up to 60 seconds.
• Placement: Integrated into the For You feed, blending naturally with organic content.
• Best for: Brand awareness, product demos, and storytelling.
• Features: This can include interactive elements like CTAs (Call to Action) and links.

Branded Hashtag Challenges

• Format: Users are encouraged to create content around a specific hashtag, often with a challenge or theme.
• Placement: Featured on the Discover page.
• Best for: Creating viral content, engaging with communities, and building brand awareness.
• Features: This can include brand partnerships with popular influencers and UGC (user-generated content).

Spark Ads

• Format: Promoted organic content, either from a brand or users.
• Placement: Integrated into the feed, with a smooth transition from organic to sponsored content.
• Best for: Amplifying successful organic content, creating authenticity and trust.
• Features: Leverages existing engagement, making it more likely to resonate with users.

TopView Ads

• Format: Full-screen video ads.
• Placement: Displayed immediately when the app is opened, ensuring maximum visibility.
• Best for: High-impact campaigns, brand awareness, and product launches.
• Features: Can last up to 60 seconds, with high engagement potential.

Shop Now Integration

• Format: Integrated shopping features within the app.
• Placement: Directly within the video ad.
• Best for: E-commerce brands aiming for direct sales.
• Features: Allows users to purchase items directly through the video ad, streamlining the conversion process.

Meta Ads

Image Ads

• Format: Simple image ads featuring a single visual.
• Placement: Facebook Feed, Instagram Feed, and other placements across the Meta ecosystem.
• Best for: Brand awareness and simple messages.
• Features: Includes text overlays, CTAs, and clickable links.

Video Ads

• Format: Video content ranging from short clips to longer formats.
• Placement: Facebook Feed, Instagram Feed, Stories, and more.
• Best for: Storytelling, product demos, and engaging visuals.
• Features: Can be as long as 240 minutes (in some cases), with options for interactive CTAs.

Carousel Ads

• Format: Multi-image or multi-video ads that allow users to swipe through different products or messages.
• Placement: Facebook Feed, Instagram Feed, Stories, and more.
• Best for: Showcasing multiple products, services, or features in one ad.
• Features: Interactive; users can swipe through each card to discover more.

Reels Ads

• Format: Full-screen, short-form video ads on Instagram and Facebook.
• Placement: Appears in Instagram Reels, Stories, and Facebook Feed.
• Best for: Brand awareness, engagement, and appealing to younger audiences.
• Features: Similar to TikTok videos, designed for quick, engaging content.

Lead Ads

• Format: Ads that allow businesses to collect leads directly within the platform.
• Placement: Facebook Feed, Instagram Feed, and Stories.
• Best for: Service-based businesses or brands looking to gather customer data or newsletter sign-ups.
• Features: In-app forms with minimal friction, improving lead collection efficiency.

Targeting Capabilities

TikTok ads have made significant changes in targeting, offering options like interest-based targeting, behavioral data, custom audiences, and lookalike audiences. However, it still lags slightly behind Meta in terms of precision.

Meta ads remain the leader in targeting capabilities. With hyper-detailed demographic, geographic, interest, and behavioral targeting, it allows advertisers to reach their exact audience.

Meta’s amazing retargeting tools, including website visitors, app activity, and CRM data, are unmatched, making it the platform of choice for businesses seeking precise targeting.

Cost and ROI

TikTok ads

• TikTok offers a lower CPM (Cost Per Mille), making it more affordable for brand awareness campaigns. The platform’s viral nature allows businesses to reach a wider audience without heavy ad spend, but creating high-quality, engaging content can increase creative costs.
• While TikTok provides Shop Now features for conversions, tracking ROI can be harder, especially for industries that focus on high-ticket sales or B2B. However, it’s great for businesses targeting younger audiences and industries like fashion and beauty that thrive on trends.

Meta ads

• Meta has higher CPM and CPC rates but offers more precise targeting and optimization tools. This makes it ideal for conversion-focused campaigns, like sales or lead generation.
• Meta’s advanced tools, such as dynamic product ads and the Facebook Pixel, help businesses track conversions and measure ROI more effectively, making it a strong choice for businesses with specific performance goals.

Analytics and Insights

TikTok ads

• TikTok’s analytics tools provide basic insights into reach, engagement, and conversion rates, helping advertisers gauge performance. While it’s improving, it lacks the depth of data that Meta offers, which may limit the ability to fine-tune campaigns for deeper conversions.

Meta ads

• Meta excels with its Ads Manager, providing detailed metrics on reach, engagement, CTR, and conversion rates. These insights allow advertisers to optimize campaigns in real time and adjust targeting based on performance, making Meta’s tools more robust and valuable for data-driven decisions.

The great thing is you are able to use MyDataNinja for both platforms. MyDataNinja gives you a better view of your ads reportings and it simplifies your digital advertising efforts. From simple Meta and TikTok ads insights, MyDataNinja will be a big jump when it comes to data processing.

Conversion Potential

TikTok ads

• TikTok is strong for driving brand awareness and engagement, especially with younger audiences. However, its tools for direct conversions are still evolving, making it better for industries like fashion and beauty where trends matter more than direct sales.

Meta ads

• Meta is a leader in conversion with tools like dynamic product ads and lead generation forms. It’s highly effective for e-commerce and service-based businesses looking to drive measurable results, with precise targeting and advanced tracking that ensures strong ROI.

Final Thoughts

Both TikTok Ads and Meta Ads are powerful tools for digital marketing in 2025, but each platform serves different purposes.

TikTok shines with its creative, trend-driven approach, making it perfect for engaging younger audiences with viral content.

On the other hand, Meta stands out in offering precise targeting, in-depth analytics, and tools designed to drive conversions. Choosing the right platform comes down to your business goals, your target audience, and the type of campaign you’re running.

By understanding the strengths of each platform, you can build a strategy that maximizes your ROI. Plus, with MyDataNinja available on both TikTok and Meta, you can easily monitor and optimize your campaigns across both platforms. Its built-in reporting features are far superior, helping you track and adjust your ad performance for better results.